This is a list for various teams and individuals in the racing game series WipEout. The amount of Back Story this series possesses is enough to fill a book, but unlike its rival series F-Zero, it has never been explained in the games themselves. As such, we at TV Tropes have decided to make this page to explain the back story for all teams and characters in this immersive series.
The teams
Federal European Industrial Science And Research
- Base of operations: European UnionFirst appearance: Installment chronology: Wipeout (1995); canon timeline: Wipeout 2048 (2012)Livery: Blue, yellow, white
The only team to appear in the starting lineup of every game in the series, FEISAR was founded in 2024 as the Foundation for European Anti-Gravity Research, which subsequently folded in 2035. The FEISAR we all know rose from the Foundation's ashes in 2036. After AG Systems relocated to Japan in 2042, FEISAR was made Europe's main anti-gravity research foundation, and they convinced several former AG Systems members to work with them on establishing a racing team and craft.
From the beginning of the F3600 League, FEISAR were known for their extremely nimble crafts, but they were frequently hindered by their general lack of top speed. Unfortunately, FEISAR did not have much success initially, due to the fact that the team's board was unable to decide on a single HQ, forcing the team to move through its 12 different headquarters spread throughout Europe (sometimes even within the same year). Even with this problem, FEISAR could rely on a loyal fan following and went on to become a fan favorite among the crowds, and a starting point for various AG racers who would later achieve greatness on other teams.
Their all-time high was in the F9000, where, with elite British racer Daniel Johnson as their main pilot, the team managed to achieve several winning performances that easily rivaled those of Auricom, Xios, and Piranha. Despite this, though, FEISAR backed away from AG racing following the collapse of the League. The team made a return for 2197's FX300. Although the United Kingdom has splintered away from FEISAR in order to resurrect Icaras, the FEISAR racing team won't let that setback slow them down. Rest assured, FEISAR is unanimously regarded as one of the faces of AG racing, alongside AG Systems, Qirex, Auricom, and to some extent, Piranha.
- Crutch Character: Played straight in the earlier titles; their crafts have the highest handling, making them beginner-friendly. Due to their very low top end speed, however, they trail behind those of teams such as Auricom and Qirex, which both dominated the first game and 2097. However, it is fully subverted in the later games - especially in HD, due to the much different handling system and overall faster pace, making their crafts an extremely valid choice even for more experienced drivers; their Fury craft in particular is regarded by many to be the best in the entire game with its high stats across the board.
- Jack of All Stats: Their craft in Fusion, the LS-59, has a higher top speed than the other FEISAR crafts while maintaining the excellent handling and good shields they've become known for.
- Magikarp Power: Their prototype craft in 2048 starts out slow but gets faster and faster when passing over speed pads until it crashes or enters the next lap.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Due to the development of the Super Missile, FEISAR might be responsible for the 2164 Temtesh Bay disaster, which caused the mine section of the medium course to collapse. The result: Six pilots were killed while the survivors got stuck inside for days. This was also one of the events that led to the collapse of the F9000 league.
- Obstructive Bureaucrat: FEISAR is bound by contract to move between all its 12 individual HQs in a single year, meaning less time to develop their crafts.
- Secret Art:
- 64: Minigun: A stream of bullets is continuously fired for 10 seconds, and it only takes a few of them to destroy another craft.
- Fusion: Super Missile: Essentially a more powerful version of the Missile, 3 souped-up targeted missiles can be fired on multiple crafts at once or even on only a single one. This weapon might have also been the cause of the aforementioned Temtesh Bay disaster.
- Series Mascot: FEISAR's AG Craft serves as this for the entirety of the WipEout series, appearing in every game with its trademarked blue, yellow and white livery.
Anti-Gravity Systems/G-Tech Systems
- Base of operations: Japan (originally Europe)First appearance: Installment chronology: Wipeout (1995); canon timeline: Wipeout 2048 (2012)Livery: Red, white, light blue (AG Systems); violet, gold, white (G-Tech)
Undoubtedly the quintessential AG racing team, Anti-Gravity Systems, usually referred to as AG Systems, was founded in 2040 in Europe as the Foundation of European Anti-Gravity Research's commercial arm. They were founded in response to the Foundation's chronic lack of funding and the general reception to AG technology, which, suffice to say, was not very positive. The company was bought out by a Japanese consortium and relocated to Japan in 2042, and has remained there ever since. This occasion also forced the formation of FEISAR by the European Union as a replacement AG research organization. However, founder Pierre Belmondo remained loyal, both to his philosophy of AG technology for the sake of mankind, and to AG Systems.
While they've taken part in AG racing since the days of the AGRC and the F3600, the first true display of their skills came in the days of the F5000, even though Piranha's super-prototype craft easily outmatched everybody on the track. Unfortunately, starting with the F7200, the team's biggest problems became obvious: they were very inconsistent due to the fact they preferred creating AG technology to racing it (often tweaking their ship between races), but even then it was assured they could have access to the latest AG technologies before anybody else due to their research. Sadly, the team fell victim to their own inconsistency, and AG Systems declared bankruptcy in 2155.
What was left of the team was bought by G-Tech Systems in the same year. G-Tech was the polar opposite of AG Systems: they were incredibly obsessed with money, to the point they openly admitted they wanted to buy success in the league, no matter the cost or the consequences. They were also infamous for their low-quality AG products, and that caused the team to always struggle behind. This, coupled with the death of Pierre Belmondo in 2127, caused many fans to turn their back on G-Tech and weep, for AG racing's soul had finally passed on. And it just spiraled down from there: G-Tech Systems took part in the corruption of the F9000 racing league, and was subsequently shut down in 2170. It seemed that the death of G-Tech was the final nail in AG Systems' coffin... Or was it?
The following year, AG Systems was revived, and they continued mass production and research of AG technology. With the AG racing scene's revival in the 2180s, the Japanese team was granted a place in 2197's FX300 debut season. The phoenix had risen again: AG Systems was back, and it was better than ever. Their persistence paid off on the race track, too, as their solid performances granted them the championship title of the FX300's final season in 2206 following Triakis's disqualification. AG Systems did similarly well in the FX350, and that has cemented their status as one of the main contenders for the FX400 championship.
- Fragile Speedster: Their crafts are easily maneuverable, but are often easy to destroy. This is especially evident with their Speed craft in 2048, which usually fills the top of the leaderboards in the higher speed classes with its sublime speed-handling balance, but has the lowest defense rating among all the non-prototype crafts in the game. This trope is further evidenced by their Prototype craft in the same game, which has the best handling in the game, has a very high top speed and can do Double Barrel Rolls and Combat Flips while racing, but it's so seriously lacking in shields that a Plasma hit usually results in elimination.
- He's Back!: Following the events of Fusion. They later won the final FX300 championship in 2206 after Triakis's disqualification.
- Jack of All Stats: G-Tech's REVVER is supposed to be this, but its below-average stats on everything except for good top speed and shields make it a Master of None. Even its Super Weapon, the Bio-Snare, is seen as rather weak compared to other teams' Super Weapons.
- Japan Takes Over the World: AG-Systems is a very large multinational company based in Japan.
- Secret Art:
- 64: Shield Raider: Locked onto an opponent and fired in a similar fashion to the Missile, it drains almost all of the target craft's energy leaving it only at 1%. Of course, it is unanimously seen as one of the more potent weapons in the game, if not the entire series.
- Fusion (as G-Tech): Bio-Snare: A green projectile containing a corrosive virus is fired straight down the track. If it hits a craft, it slowly depletes its energy and disrupts its controls.
Auricom Research Industries
- Base of operations: United States of America & CanadaFirst appearance: Installment chronology: Wipeout (1995); canon timeline: Wipeout 2048 (2012)Livery: Navy blue, red, white
One of the two teams representing the series' Cold War, Auricom was founded in 2046 following Delia Flaubert's dismissal from AG Systems after a major argument with fellow employee Holst McQueen. Flaubert was a firm believer in Belmondo's philosophy of using AG technology for the good of mankind, and moved to the United States to create Auricom. Pierre Belmondo sympathized with Auricom from the start, and the team's heated rivalry with McQueen's team Qirex was white hot from the beginning of the AGRC. This was especially evident with the rivalry between the Tetsuo sisters, Arial and Arian, who raced for Auricom and Qirex respectively, and a rumor that one of Auricom's top pilots, Anastasia Cherovoski, was a spy for Qirex.
Their rivalry with Qirex continued even during the F9000, when the Russian team was bought by Tigron Enterprises, who targeted Auricom as a matter of principle. The American team played the part of the Token Good Team in the grim F9000 days, proud of the fact that they were the last team standing by Belmondo's philosophy following AG Systems's demise and subsequent absorption by G-Tech Systems. When Xios managed to poach Natasha Belmondo from Auricom, they constantly teased them. This led Auricom to create a much heavier craft and threaten to wipe out anybody who dared stand against Belmondo's ideals, especially Tigron (who got the worst of it). Auricom won the 2168 championship with the help of female German pilot Pascale Rouser, but they were the first to withdraw from the F9000 following allegations of rampant corruption in the sport. As a result, they survived the F9000's fall, and focused all their energies on commercial AG technology.
Following the revival of AG racing and the surprise success of the amateur FX150 league, Auricom got back in the game for the FX300. Unfortunately, they weren't so lucky this time around, struggling even against newcomers such as Triakis (then again, who could blame them?). Because of this below-average performance, Auricom took their time to prepare themselves and their ship for the FX400, but since Qirex was ready for the league earlier than them, Auricom now has no choice but to catch up, with the rivalry between Flaubert & McQueen hotter than ever.
- All-American Face: Duh.
- Eagleland: The Beautiful, easily. Auricom is typically portrayed as fiercely idealistic, and faithful to Belmondo's intent to create technology for the good of mankind.
-
Esoteric Happy Ending: One of their finest moments came in their Darkest Hour during the F9000 League. For all the corruption that they were forced to put up with for years, they took both the Driver's & Constructor's titles in 2168, washed their hands of & walked away from the incoming shitstorm with their heads held high. One could even argue that the downfall of F9000 was a direct consequence of their actions; Knight Templar that they are Auricom saw it as Open Season on most of the other teams, and it has been established that sheer expense in replacing and repairing craft was a major contributing factor in F9000 going belly up, and they helped bring it all about simply through sheer collateral damage. - Good Is Not Nice: During the F9000, they took pride in being the last team standing for Belmondo's ideals, and punished anyone who thought otherwise.
- Foil: To Qirex: Auricom is an idealistic American team that builds balanced crafts and always plays by the rules, but while it is a well-loved team amongst the fans, like Qirex, they struggled quite a bit to find success on the track.
- Their Prototype craft in 2048 can also be considered this to the Qirex Prototype, as while the Qirex Prototype focuses on all-out offense by using an extremely powerful Minigun, the Auricom Prototype instead focuses on sheer defense as it doesn't suffer any stun effects from other weapons and can regenerate shield energy.
- Jack of All Stats: Their crafts in the earlier titles had balanced stats across the field. In 2048, their Agility craft also is one of the more balanced ones in the game.
- The Idealist: Auricom was founded to continue the legacy of Belmondo's philosophy of using technology to benefit humanity, so it's only natural they tend to be the most idealistic team in the field.
- Mighty Glacier: Their crafts in the later games sacrifice acceleration and handling with superior shield technology, so while they're a bit slow off the line, they rank among the better choices in Eliminator Mode. Their Fighter craft in 2048 is also this, having the lowest speed rating in the game, but sporting the best overall defenses among non-prototype crafts.
- Their craft in Fusion, the T-808, is also this, which is justified since they increased their aggressiveness over defending Belmondo's ideals taking AG Systems' demise and the ever-increasing corruption allegations in the F9000 into account. When fully upgraded, it becomes a full-blown Lightning Bruiser as well.
- Rage Breaking Point/Unstoppable Rage: What the team experienced after Xios' employment of Natasha Belmondo. The Finnish team's constant mocking of Auricom caused them to develop their Mighty Glacier craft for the F9000 and swear to mow down anyone who stood against Belmondo's philosophy. Tigron was the team that paid the highest price for Auricom's idealistic wrath.
- The Rival: To Qirex. Their relationship with Tigron is a whole other ballgame entirely.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: They eventually pulled out of the F9000 league out of disgust, but not before scoring one last victorious season. Following the League's collapse, they were the first to testify against Overtel and Tigron and were thus aquitted.
- Secret Art: Auricom can surely pride itself on having two of the most devastating weapons that have graced the series as their own Super Weapons.
- 64: Energy Sphere: An energy weapon similar to the Plasma which can be charged variably and is fired in a straight pattern. If fully charged, it is a One-Hit Kill move.
- Fusion: Orbital Laser: After locking on the nearest craft, a high-power laser is fired from a satellite, dealing considerable damage and completely stopping the target. Of course, it doesn't work on tunnels or underground. If it was powerful enough, it probably could.
- Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: Their philosophy, which they share with Pierre Belmondo and AG Systems, resides in the scale's idealistic spectrum, compared to Qirex's (and to a higher extent, G-Tech's) money-based cynicism.
- Stone Wall: Their prototype craft in 2048 suffers zero knockback from weapons.
- Wearing a Flag on Your Head: Downplayed. Despite not displaying the American flag in full on their ships, their colors of red, white, and blue, as well as their consistent star iconography throughout games, dovetail closely with the design of the American flag.
Qirex Research and Development/Tigron Enterprises
- Base of operations: RussiaFirst appearance: Installment chronology: Wipeout (1995); canon timeline: Wipeout 2048 (2012)Livery: Violet, white, pink (Qirex); mustard yellow, red, black (Tigron)
The other team representing the Cold War, Qirex was founded in 2045 by Holst McQueen, following a bitter argument with fellow AG Systems employee Delia Flaubert, which caused their subsequent dismissal. McQueen scorned Belmondo's naïveté and distanced himself from the Frenchman's philosophy, believing in the profitability of AG technology. McQueen moved to Russia and there he founded Qirex, to directly oppose Flaubert's Auricom. The team was bought by the Overtel Corporation, and with Holst's leadership and nigh-unlimited funding, Qirex was by far and away the fastest team in the circuit in the F3600 days, despite having a difficult-to-master craft, with their lead pilot, Russian former aviator Kel Solaar, considered to this day as the best AG racer of all time, winning more F3600 championships than the rest of the racers combined.
Following Belmondo's death in 2127, Overtel gained more control over AG racing, but as a result, Qirex became an independent entity. Nonetheless, they kept on riding the wave in the F7200 until the Russian industry's downfall in the 2140s. No longer under the protective wings of a parent company, Qirex's assets were taken over by The Mafiya, who had recently overthrown the Russian government.
The team was bought by the syndicate-owned Tigron Enterprises in 2149. Tigron subsequently took part in the F9000, where they would use their own specially designed craft and extremely aggressive, usually questionable tactics - even going as far as to blackmail Overtel into changing the rules to favor them, sell parts of old Qirex crafts in the black market and buy the diamond farm owned by their South African lead pilot Omarr Khumala if he managed to shut down Auricom for good. They even went as far as to allegedly kidnap 2000 government officials and factory workers to employ them as workers for the team. Obviously, that made them the most detested racing team on the F9000 grid, with multiple teams filing complaints against them after almost every race due to their dirty tactics. Tigron Enterprises was disbanded in 2170 after their allegiance with Overtel and their nefarious machinations were exposed to the public. Qirex's facilities were laid derelict, and the syndicate government of Russia collapsed soon after. A young Russian businessman, Feliks Levovich, bought control of Qirex's assets in 2172 in an attempt to restore the team to its former glory.
This attempt went all according to plan: Qirex rose from the ashes in 2179, and following the success of the amateur FX150 league in the 2180's, the team developed a new craft to compete in the FX300. Overtel's enormous funds were a distant memory, but even then, Qirex was a potential contender for the title, even if they did not perform as well as in the old days. These results gave the team hope, and with the help of business partner Quantax Dynamics and the talent of newcomer racer Nadia Elenova, the Russian team has high expectations for the FX400.
As for Tigron, one final ship was re-commissioned by Qirex during the FX300 as a training craft in order to get the new pilots used to heavy crafts. Once it had served its purpose, though, it was destroyed, as Levovich didn't want any remnant of the old Tigron to survive the F9000's fall. However, another Tigron-manufactured ship silently made its way through the FX350; called the K-VSR, it was the final craft Tigron built before it was shutdown, and its rarity has made it a very valued piece in the AG racing enthusiast market. Just pray someone doesn't revive it.
- The Bus Came Back: Tigron returned in the Omega Collection with their brand new K-VSR craft
.- Subverted; it's actually an old chassis from the F9000 days, of which only a few examples exist.
- Blatant Lies: Hoo boy, Tigron's bio in Fusion's manual is a fuckin' doozy."Tigron Enterprises - the world's favorite anti-gravity racing team. There has been all manner of malicious rumors circulated about the origins of our successful company, but all of those rumors are untrue. All you need to know is that Tigron is at the very pinnacle of anti-gravity racing, and that our latest contest will see victory finally in the hands of those most worthy of it."
- The Cynic: Qirex's founder, Holst McQueen, derided Belmondo's philanthropist way of thought, believing instead that AG technology was for large-scale profits than anything else. Of course, Qirex was (and still is) by far the most cynical out of the original four teams.
- Dragon-in-Chief: Despite Overtel being the Big Bad in Fusion, Tigron managed to be even more of a threat as they were more directly involved in the F9000 scandals and often used Overtel themselves to get what they wanted.
- Faux Cyrillic: "QІГЕЖ" (pre-F9000) and "QІЯЕЖ" (post-F9000). They translate into Latin as "QІGEŽ" and "QІYAEŽ".
- Foil: To Auricom: Qirex is a cynical Russian team born under the philosophy of profit margins over all else and an all-out Combat Pragmatist on the field; thanks to it being under the wings of Overtel, it enjoyed limitless funding and was the team to beat in the early days. Things are still very much in their favor in spite of Auricom having more resources in the newer games.
- Their Prototype craft in 2048 can also be regarded as one to the Auricom Prototype in the same game.
- Tigron is an even more obvious foil to Auricom, but is also one to Van-Uber: Tigron was a ruthless, crafty racing team that didn't mind resorting to the dirtiest of tactics just to win another championship and bring the AG Racing Commission to its knees. Compare that to Van-Uber, a team that preferred to win races fair and square (with minimal weapon use).
- Fragile Speedster: Omega's K-VSR isn't the best in the shielding department, but once it gets going it'll be very difficult to catch thanks to its extremely high top speed. It's essentially a slightly more durable Icaras.
- Hated by All: Due to their constant cheating, highly pragmatic racing style and criminal background, it's no surprise that every other team in the F9000 - including the money-hungry G-Tech and the trollish Xios - hated Tigron's guts.
- Heel–Face Revolving Door: They started off as neutral and remained so until the F7200, turned evil upon getting absorbed by Tigron in the F9000, and then returned neutral with the advent of the FX300, this time however with slight good leanings.
- The Heavy: Despite Overtel supervising AG racing in the F9000 era, Tigron was responsible for the bulk of the scandals revolving around it, eventually leading to its downfall.
- He's Back!: Qirex were reinstated after the events of Fusion, but their comeback wasn't as flashy as AG Systems'.
- Lightning Bruiser: Their crafts in the more recent games. While they might have a rather average acceleration, their speed, handling, and shields more than make up for it.
- Tigron's craft in Fusion, the Bull-666, is also this. Its extremely high top speed, coupled with nice handling, strong shields and a spine-chilling Super Weapon made them among the more popular choices between Fusion's players, despite being by far the evilest team that has graced the series since the F7200's Goteki 45.
- The Mafiya: Tigron. Who'da thunk?
- Mighty Glacier: Qirex's crafts in the earlier titles have terrible handling and acceleration, but compensate with amazing shields and speed, similarly to Piranha and Triakis in the more recent games. Their crafts in 2048 also qualify, especially the Fighter variant: second-lowest speed rating, third-lowest handling rating, but weapon power maxed out and the second-highest defense rating in the game (tied with the Pir-hana Fighter). In short, if you see one in a Combat event, run.
- Their tendency of building bulky crafts, alongside their founder's cold and cynical views, is also given a nod in their Russian motto in 2048 — Сила есть - ума не надо (Sila yest' - uma ne nado; One with brawn doesn't need brains).
- More Dakka: The Qirex Prototype in 2048 comes with a self-reloading Minigun weapon which is even more powerful than the Plasma.
- Mother Russia Makes You Strong: ...That might explain how sturdy their crafts are.
- Obviously Evil: Red and black paint scheme, plausible deniability in their bio in the game manual, a heavily armed craft with high top speed and a terrifyingly strong Super Weapon... Seriously, who didn't think that Tigron had ties with the Russian mafia and caused most of the F9000's corruption scandals at first? To be fair, though, the game's story is rarely if ever referred to in the games themselves...
- Red and Black and Evil All Over: Tigron's livery sports mainly black and ruby-red with a few yellow accents. They're the Dragon with an Agenda to Overtel's Big Bad during the F9000 days.
- The Rival: Against Auricom. Their relationship with them as Tigron is a whole other ballgame entirely..
- Privileged Rival/Always Someone Better: See the entry for Foil above.
- Rival Turned Evil: During the F9000, as Tigron.
- Russian Guy Suffers Most: They suffered by far the greatest amount of damage from the corruption and subsequent fall of the F9000.
- Secret Art:
- 64: Power Snare: An energy wall is fired from behind, and any craft that hits it loses some energy and gets slowed down to a halt.
- Fusion (as Tigron): Nitro Rocket: After locking on another craft ahead, a rocket filled with liquid nitrogen is fired upon the target craft, freezing it on impact. The impact leaves the victim incredibly susceptible to damage and impairing their controls. If you get hit by one of these, just pray your craft doesn't get destroyed until the ice thaws.
- Shadow Archetype: In a way, Tigron can be considered one to Qirex itself. Even though Qirex were open in their pursuit of economical gains in their anti-gravity endeavors, they still have a semblance of ethics and always tried to win fair and square in AG racing despite Overtel's funding. Tigron, on the other hand, had no such qualms and were more than happy to indulge in criminal activities for further financial gain, and even went as far as to cheat during the F9000 to win more titles.
- Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: Their philosophy on the use of AG technology, in stark contrast with Auricom's, is mostly cynical.
Piranha Advancements
- Base of operations: Brazil (China during the events of the first Wipeout and 2097)First appearance: Installment chronology: Wipeout 2097 (1996); canon timeline: Wipeout 2048 (2012)Livery: Red, yellow, orange
Pir-hana was formed in 2044 as a result of a merger between two smaller Brazilian teams, Pir and Hana. Despite their subtle ways, they played a pivotal role in the establishment of the AGRC. The company pulled out of AG racing in 2050 under unknown circumstances, but was bought by an unknown entity and relocated to China in 2060, producing airbrakes for Auricom and AG Systems in the meantime. However, that was just a stepping stone to their ultimate goal...
The team, now Piranha Advancements, came back in the AG racing scene in 2097, and with a perfectionist agenda, they entered a prototype ship in the league that stunned everyone who saw it in action. It did not carry any weapon technology, but it was the perfect AG race craft, with mind-boggling speed, lightning-fast acceleration, impenetrable shielding and very snappy handling. The catch was that the building cost of this craft was astronomically high, and recruiting racers to pilot such a ridiculously powerful craft was easier said than done.
Piranha returned to Brazil in time for the F7200 league, but they did not release any information on their plans for the following seasons. Their F7200 craft definitely wasn't as mental as their F5000 prototype, but it was much more manageable and had weapons technology like the other ships. Perfectionism was still part of Piranha's philosophy, as shown with Aries Piermont, who led Piranha through the dark days of the F9000. The ship they entered for that league was a lot like their F5000 prototype in terms of raw performance, but it also carried powerful weapons technology. This proved to be a lethal combination: alongside FEISAR, Auricom and Xios, Piranha was one of the fastest teams in the F9000 grid, made especially evident by the fact that they bought out African team Assegai and incorporated their handling technology into their craft.
The team withdrew from the public eye once again following the collapse of the F9000, and sold Assegai back to the African Union. Their surprise appearance at the AG Rebirth Festival in 2185 marked their definitive return to AG racing, and as a result, they entered the FX300's debut season in 2197 with a brand new craft. Their ship was unbelievably fast but very hard to handle, and that caused the team to struggle in Makana's more technical circuits. They did not take this problem kindly: they came back for revenge in the FX400, with what they consider the fastest craft they've created since their insane prototype from the F5000 league, and the fastest craft in the FX400 grid full stop. Nobody - except Icaras - is willing to argue about the latter.
- Animal Motifs: As if the name didn't point it out already...
- Awesome, but Impractical: Their prototype ship in 2048. Fastest ship in the game. Automatic acceleration. No standard steering, only airbrakes and sideshifts. Good luck!
- Master of All: Their secret craft in 2097, whose only drawback is that you can't use any pickups, but who needs weapons when you have a craft this good? How you'll acquire it though...
- The Swiftkiller from Fusion is this, too: even the Penetrator is one of the best superweapons, as it excels both offensively and competitively. Not only that, the ship of their lead pilot Myima Tsarong is the only ship with fully upgradable stats in the entire game. Also, it's the last ship to be unlocked in the game, only being available after winning the final championship in League mode and then beating second pilot Jann Shlaudecker in a duel.
- Mighty Glacier: Their crafts in the later games have very similar stats to Triakis', but they trade some defenses for top speed. However, they can't quite hold their ground effectively through twistier circuits.
- The Perfectionist: During the F5000 and F9000.
- Purposely Overpowered: In both 2097 and Fusion, where they appear as a secret team unlocked as a 100% Completion reward.
- Spell My Name With An S: Referred to as "Pirhana" in wip3out. The spelling was originally a typo, but it was later retconned in 2048 (as Pir-hana) to be a reference to the team's origins.
- Secret Art:
- 64: Stealth: When activated, the craft becomes partially invisible, immune to any damage and also impossible to lock on with other weapons. This weapon became available to all teams in 3 before being dumped altogether in Fusion.
- Fusion: Penetrator: The craft's nose becomes heavily armoured, locks onto another craft, and activates the Autopilot at full speed to hit the target. This being a physical attack, the craft receives slight recoil damage. If dumbfired, it acts as a Turbo with no steering.
Goteki 45
- Base of operations: Makana (artificial Pacific island)First appearance: wip3out (1999)Livery: Yellow, orange, magenta
Goteki 45 was formed in 2065 and first entered AG racing in the F7200 era. They quickly became the league's most infamous team due to their insanely violent tactics, with a craft boasting outstanding shields at the expense of overall performance. Furthermore, the pilots played more aggressively than was standard, and as a result, many assumed the team was created to undermine the very soul of AG racing. Before official investigations into the team could begin, however, the team's HQ in Makana was destroyed by unknown bombers in 2137. To this day, nobody knows the identity of the culprit, although some think another F7200-era team (possibly Qirex) took matters into their own hands.
Makana was rebuilt from scratch in 2195, and following a bid from the artificial island's government, the FX300 was held there starting from 2197. Following the success of the league, Goteki 45 was reformed in 2202, but it was not the Ax-Crazy team everybody remembered from the F7200. As a matter of fact, the team wanted to bury that image for the sake of the island itself, and created a much weaker, but ultra-speedy craft, with the help of state of the art technology from Goteki's brand new HQ. The team had strong performances in the successive FX350 seasons, and with a new craft which has displayed a good speed-handling balance and blistering acceleration, Goteki 45 has high expectations for the FX400.
- Ax-Crazy: Oh so much during the F7200. They got a lot better after their return into the AG racing scene.
- Blood Knight: Only during the F7200, although they were a rather deranged example of it.
- Foil: To Icaras: Goteki 45 held the dubious honor of being the most violent team in the history of AG racing during their F7200 stint, and their crafts always had strong shields but an average top speed at best.
- Fridge Brilliance: Their reputation for excessively rough conduct on the track. As any one who has seen the Pacific Island nations play the Rugby codes can attest, being possibly the hardest hitters out there and relatively frequent bouts of ill-discipline are In the Blood.
- Heel–Face Turn: Upon their resurrection, the team dropped their psychotic F7200 persona outright.
- Meaningful Name: The 45 in their name stands for the forty-five sovereign countries and overseas territories in the Pacific Ocean.
- Mighty Glacier: Their F7200 craft, reflecting their mercilessness on the field, sacrificed overall performance with the strongest shield department among all the teams.
- Lightning Bruiser: Their crafts (following their return) have great acceleration and surprisingly decent shielding, alongside average top speed and handling.
- Old Shame: In-Universe example: the team wanted to bury their F7200 mentality in the FX300 when they returned to AG racing for the good of their homeland, and decided to focus on being the most technologically advanced team on the field instead of the most bloodthirsty one.
- Pay Evil unto Evil: Their home base got bombed after the events of wip3out.
- Troll: Their F7200 persona was half Ax-Crazy Blood Knight and half this.
Assegai Developments
- Base of operations: United African Nations (based in South Africa)First appearance: wip3out (1999)Livery: Light blue, white, khaki
Assegai Developments was formed in 2113 following an invitation from the AG Racing Commission to the United African Nations to create their own AG racing team, following excellent performances from African-born racers in the past and in an effort to make AG racing a truly international sport. As such, Assegai only hired African pilots for the F7200. With a frighteningly agile, yet paper-shielded craft, the team was one of the best in the league. Unfortunately such agility piqued Piranha's interest, and as a result the Brazilian team bought Assegai in 2150, using their technology to develop their near-perfect F9000 craft.
Following a request from the UAN to sell back the team, Piranha handed Assegai back to them in 2183 for a currently unknown sum. Their FX300 craft was a more balanced affair, but was still quite agile, and with good shielding to boot. Despite being a mid-pack runner, they built themselves quite the reputation.
To improve their performance, Assegai focused on the FX400 league, developing a craft that proved very similar to their F7200 one: it had sublime handling, but was seriously lacking in shielding. As a result, they formed a partnership with Triakis, trading some of their handling technology in exchange for the Australian team's shielding tech. With this partnership in place, Assegai is shaping up to be a top contender for the FX400 championship.
- Fragile Speedster: Many of their crafts have below-average shielding countered with high top speed and acceleration and near-perfect handling, making them an excellent choice for straightforward racing. Their FX300 craft, instead, was a Jack of All Stats - only with a slight knack on acceleration.
- Meaningful Name: An assegai is a type of spear meant to be thrown or hurled, and was the most common weapon in Africa before the introduction of firearms. Their ships' traditional dual-pronged design resembles the tip of a spear as well.
- Multinational Team: One of the two in the game alongside FEISAR, although their main base of operations is in South Africa.
Icaras
- Base of operations: United KingdomFirst appearance: wip3out (1999)Livery: Pink, white, orange
Icaras was founded in 2109 by entrepreneur Burnston Burns, who was already known for his awesome publicity stunts, most notably an extra pair of eyes on his forehead to advertise his digital spectacle company, Four-Ize. He started Icaras as a pet project after claiming that he could create an AG racing craft from scratch in under 7 months. With the help of various founders from around the world, Burns made good on his boast, and Icaras was registered in the F7200. From the very first race, their craft was known for one thing: pure speed. It was unquestionably the fastest craft in the grid, in exchange for cripplingly weak shields. Unfortunately, the project did not turn out as Burnston hoped: they didn't even manage to finish a race in their first two seasons, and the team constantly complained that the league's race tracks did not suit their racing style. This caused Icaras to earn the ire of all of the other teams except for FEISAR, and ultimately culminated in the British team folding in 2140 following Burns's rather humorous death: he swallowed a balloon at a children's party!
53 years later, Burnston's grandson Connor Burns revived Icaras, and now they're damn serious about being a legit AG racing team: the United Kingdom splintered off from the European Federation and FEISAR in order to revive Icaras, and that ultimately earned them the pan-European team's enmity. Even worse, their anger was at a personal level: FEISAR had bought Icaras' assets before the events of the F9000, explaining their unexpectedly great performances in those times. Nonetheless, Icaras has shown solid performance throughout the FX300 with a craft that is almost exactly the same as their F7200 one specs-wise, albeit with slight statistical tweaks.
Because of their conflict with FEISAR, Icaras was a late entry in the FX400, but they were also still in the process of building their latest SunGod craft. Despite this, Connor has stated that the British team's new craft is the fastest monster on the grid - yes, even faster than Piranha. As such, he's very confident in the possibility that Icaras will take home the championship. Considering his grandpa's legacy, that's pretty much a given.
- Black Comedy: Burnston Burns' death.
- Crippling Overspecialization/Difficult, but Awesome: Their crafts' focus on top speed leave them with below-average stats in the other fields at best. This means that their crafts have an unusually steep learning curve (which may justify their status as the final unlockable team in 3 and HD). However, a good Icaras pilot won't need to worry about the lack of shields and can blaze through even the harder racetracks without constantly risking elimination. As a matter of fact, in HD it is the most commonly used craft by expert players in all speed classes barring Phantom.
- The former trope is deconstructed in a way in their backstory: they never managed to finish a race in their first two F7200 seasons, and believed that none of the tracks in the championship suited them.
- Foil: To Goteki 45 during the F7200: Icaras has always prided itself on being one of the least trigger-happy teams in the field, with a craft purely built for top speed and with heavy sacrifices in the shielding department.
- They also count as one towards FEISAR to a lesser extent; while the Pan-European team's crafts are extremely friendly towards beginners (and even towards experts in HD Fury), Icaras's crafts demand a very good player to fully unleash their potential.
- Fragile Speedster: Their crafts are the fastest in every game they appear in, but they also have the worst shielding. Good luck winning with them on Eliminator Mode!
- Icarus Allusion: The company's name pretty much asks for it, as does their craft's wax-and-feathers durability.
- It's All About Me: They started as a pet project and were narcissistic during the F7200. But counting their horrendous performances...
- Real Men Wear Pink: Their livery is mostly pink and purple.
- Spell My Name With An S: Their name is often misspelled as "Icarus", like the character in Classical Mythology, but Icaras's name and logo in Pulse and HD Fury (a stylized wing) might have been influenced by Icarus himself.
- Took a Level in Badass: They were the Jobbers of the F7200, performing so badly that even finishing a race was cause for a celebration and earning the scorn of all the other teams on the grid for their scrubbish attitude. However, they became much more competent on their revival, showing great performances since the FX300 and becoming an unanimously respected team as a result.
- Undignified Death: Poor Burnston just had to go out choking to death on a balloon at some kid's party, didn't he?
Van-Uber Racing Developments
- Base of operations: GermanyFirst appearance: Wipeout Fusion (2002)Livery: Yellow, orange, grey
Van-Uber Racing Developments was the product of one Wolfgang Van-Uber, a four-time AG racing world champion who became famous for his belief in "the purity of the race." Unlike most of his competitors, Van-Uber espoused traditional racing tactics and good sportsmanship and refused to use weapons while on the track. He was ridiculed by racing commentators for his refusal to "play dirty," but as he once claimed, "We must remain cleaner than clean. If all the clouds in the sky turn black, who can hope that the rain will ever cease?"
Van-Uber established his own racing team in 2143, wishing to see his style of racing return in a new era of AG racing. His team first competed in the new F9000 league. From the start, the team was quite popular due to the racing duo of Songen Grey and Nami Mishima. Mishima, in particular, was compared to the F3600-era legend Arial Tetsuo, but after Grey's retirement, she was moved up to the position of lead pilot, where she struggled due to frequent sabotage of her ship by the other teams. Their F9000 ships had great acceleration and good speed, but fell behind in handling and durability. Ironically, though Van-Uber abhorred using weapons, his team had one of the most powerful weapons in the entire league.
Van-Uber's scrappy team survived the fall of the F9000, but they had to go dormant as a result of the lack of AG racing competition afterward. Once amateur AG racing came about, however, Van-Uber was interested in racing again, so they participated in the Anti-Gravity Rebirth Festival in 2185. When the FX300 league was announced, the team Van Uber built got to work creating a new craft that was fit for the rebirth of professional AG racing. Van-Uber also enjoyed some success during the FX300 league, but after a brief stint in the FX350 league, they didn't join the FX400 and didn't leave an explanation, leaving many to think that they decided to call it quits with AG racing.
- Beware the Nice Ones: They may be against the use of violence during the races, but their F9000 craft ironically has one of the best weapon technologies during the league and even they have a very powerful super-weapon that gives Tigron and Xios a run for their money!
- Foil: To fellow F9000 debutants Tigron. Van-Uber is a team that prefers to win through sheer piloting skill and sportsmanship instead of Tigron's near-constant cheating.
- Glass Cannon/Fragile Speedster: Oh boy. Considering that the F9000 was the most combat-heavy league in the franchise, Van-Uber was the most fragile team on the field. Fortunately, their ship, the ZR-320, had nice acceleration, good weapon technologies and a brutal super-weapon to compensate for their defensive shortcomings.
- Their Omega Collection craft has shields that are only marginally better than Icaras', but its above-average top speed, amazing acceleration and peerless handling make it very effective in races.
- Let's Fight Like Gentlemen: Wolfgang Van-Uber has abstained from using weapons during races, and his clean-cut attitude later on translated to the team itself. However, their ship's powerful weapons system and devastating Super Weapon in Fusion meant that they weren't above using brute force when the chips are down.
- Lightning Bruiser: Their FX300 craft had an average top speed, but that was counteracted by fantastic shields, handling and acceleration.
- The Bus Came Back: While they didn't appear in the original release of HD Fury, they reappeared in the Omega Collection as a pre-order bonus, and through a redeemable code with every physical copy.
- Secret Art:
- Fusion: Seismic Field: A black hole is fired ahead on the track and mows anyone in the vicinity down. Any other craft that comes across it will suffer extremely heavy damage and will temporarily lose control, if not destroyed outright. In short, you see a Van-Uber craft on the track, pray to heavenly God Almighty they don't shoot a Seismic Field.
Triakis Industries
- Base of operations: AustraliaFirst appearance: Wipeout Pure (2005)Livery: Camouflagenote
If Saxton Hale was warped into the far future and ran a racing team, this would be the result.
Triakis Industries was formed in 2132 as a merger of three smaller arms companies: Advanced Targeting Systems Ltd., Kramer Ordnance, and Incendiary Projectile Supplies Inc. As a result of such diversity, a venture in AG racing to show off their weapons systems wasn't exactly far-fetched. Throughout the 22nd century, Triakis became the world leader in producing military hardware, but following the end of most conflicts in the 2180's, the company switched its focus to global civilian reconstruction projects due to their military hardware's dwindling demands.
Witnessing the rising popularity of the amateur AG racing scene, Triakis decided to have a shot at AG racing themselves. They pressured the AG Racing commission to create a professional racing league, and their wish was granted. For the FX300, Triakis entered a craft that slack-jawed everybody: it was equipped with a reverse-inertia deceleration system, which made their craft able to get through corners much faster than the others, even though their craft was otherwise quite heavy. This resulted in Triakis effortlessly winning the final FX300 championship in 2206. Unfortunately, the Australian team had celebrated too soon: the system was outlawed and Triakis was stripped of the title, which was given to runner-ups AG Systems.
Wanting to leave the controversy behind, Triakis built a new craft for the FX400, this time without the system that got them through the last time around. But because the deceleration system was now absent, the handling became a major issue, despite the craft's impenetrable shielding and very high top speed. The result was a partnership with Assegai, trading them some of their shielding tech in exchange some of their handling tech, which made the craft much easier to handle, but still kind of a handful. Triakis is making huge steps in the AG world, and is looking forward to throwing its weight around in the FX400.
- Animal Motifs: Sharks (see below).
- Awesome Aussie: Well, duh.
- Cheaters Never Prosper: They were stripped of their 2206 FX300 title due to their ship using a reverse inertia deceleration system.
- Foil: To Harimau: Triakis is a multinational firm based on war materials and artillery and concentrate their craft's performance more towards combat than racing.
- Meaningful Name: Their name is the scientific term for a genus of houndsharks, the most common of which is the leopard shark. Their FX300 colors were heavily reminiscent of those of a great white shark as well.
- Mighty Glacier: Their crafts have by far the best shielding among all, but are very slow off the line and can't really hold on through the harder racetracks without crashing into a wall at least once or twice. Their HD Fury craft, however, is a bonafide Lightning Bruiser thanks to its improvements in acceleration and handling.
- Real Men Wear Pink: They share their computer voice with AG Systems in the Omega Collection. Yes, the manliest, most testosterone-filled team on the grid has a Moe computer voice.
- Retcon: Their craft's cornering deceleration rate was bugged in Pure. Later games added in that they were later disqualified for using a sophisticated reverse-inertia deceleration system.
Harimau International
- Base of operations: MalaysiaFirst appearance: Wipeout Pure (2005)Livery: Orange, yellow, blue
If Lisa Simpson was warped to the far future and somehow decided to run a racing team, she'd get this. The peaceful counterpart to the war-mongering Triakis, Harimau International is a humanitarian foundation that was formed in 2177 to aid in the recovery of Asian regions that were hit hard by the great depression of the 2170's following the fall of the F9000. They quickly became a worldwide organization, and assisted in many urban restoration projects during the 2180's.
The Malaysian foundation caused quite the stir when they entered the FX300's debut season in 2197 with an "eco-friendly" craft in an attempt to promote an environmentally conscious message to the masses. Whether it was a valiant effort or just a publicity stunt is heavily debated upon, but if there's one thing everybody can agree upon, it's that Harimau quickly developed an intense rivalry with Triakis due to their clashing backgrounds. While their performances in the FX300 were mostly solid, they withdrew from the competition at the end of the league to focus on one of their biggest projects ever: repopulating suitable parts of the world with genetically engineered tigers (by the way, Harimau is Malay for "tiger"). Again, it was unclear whether it was a valiant effort to reintroduce an extinct species on Earth or yet another publicity stunt, but it did give them good media exposure.
Harimau returned to AG racing for the FX400 following the success of their "Return of the Tiger" project, entering a biofuel-powered craft into the racing grid. While they are definitely not among the big teams just yet, Harimau is more than satisfied to see that their efforts are creating a better, cleaner world.
- Beware the Nice Ones: They are a humanitarian organization, but they pack quite the punch on track.
- Foil: To Triakis. Harimau is a humanitarian organization hell-bent on restabilizing Earth's poorer regions and bringing back extinct wildlife. Of course, there are those who genuinely approve of their tactics but there are also others who think they do this purely for the money and publicity.
- Green Aesop: The anti-gravity racing team.
- Fragile Speedster: Their crafts have high top end speed and handling, but suffer in the shielding department. They are also notable in Pulse and HD for having the same stats as Assegai, but with slightly inferior acceleration.
- Meaningful Name: Harimau means "tiger" in the Malay language. Bonus points for the tiger being Malaysia's national animal.
EG-X Technologies (Xios International and EG-R Technologies)
- Base of operations: Finland (Xios); China (EG-R)First appearance: Xios and EG-R: Wipeout Fusion (2002); EG-X: Wipeout Pulse (2008)Livery: Xios: Yellow, crimson; EG-R: Crimson, white, blue; EG-X: Yellow, crimson, blue
EG-X was formed in 2172 as a result of a merger of two F9000-era teams: Xios International and EG-R Technologies.
Xios International was founded in 2137 as a weapons development company. As a result, they boasted the most powerful weapon systems in the league, but they were a relatively minor figure until Natasha Belmondo, great-great-granddaughter of Pierre Belmondo, signed with them, deserting Auricom for unknown reasons. This made the American team a local laughingstock, something that greatly angered them. This ultimately created a raging feud between the two teams, out of which Xios came on top with their winning streaks easily rivaling those of FEISAR and Piranha. They kept on going strong until 2170, when they retired from the competition due to the corruption allegations in the series going afloat. In 2172, Xios, in an effort to survive the downfall of the F9000, merged with EG-R to create EG-X.
EG-R Technologies is a team shrouded in mystery. Yes, even moreso than Piranha. Very little is known about them other than their Chinese origin and the fact they entered the F9000 league five years before the events of wipEout Fusion. The AG Racing Commission tried everything in their power to get information about them, going even as far to threaten to suspend the team if they did not comply to the rules. EG-R's answer? The threat of "destructive power" that they could "conjure up at will." Also, the cyborg-esque appearances of their pilots, Paul Cheung and Alex Reece, as well as them remembering nothing regarding their lives before coming to work for EG-R, suggested that EG-R made illegal cybernetic modifications to the duo before entering them in the league. Despite all of this, EG-R prided themselves on their advanced technology, which secured them many high-place finishes throughout their racing career. But in 2172, EG-R, trying to absolve themselves of their alleged past crimes, merged with Xios to create EG-X. The rest is history. This trope seems to be a pattern, don't you think?
Despite never participating in the FX300, EG-X entered the FX350 and showed surprisingly strong performances, putting the competition to shame with a blazingly fast ship. Before the pre-season testing events for the FX400, EG-X did not release any information about their craft, leaving viewers of the tests as the only sources of info on the pre-season craft, and even they could only tell that the ship was fast and had good handling. This Ensemble Dark Horse team is definitely one to look out for in the FX400.
- The Atoner: EG-R merged with Xios into EG-X in order to get rid of the criminal convitions.
- Blood Knight: Xios, which is expected from a weapons manufacturer, although their tendencies are definitely not to Goteki 45's extent in the F7200.
- Cybernetics Eat Your Soul: Implied for the F9000 EG-R pilots, who remember nothing about their pasts before racing for EG-R.
- Everyone Has Standards/Even Evil Has Standards: Xios does capitalize on war and is a massive troll, but they viewed the F9000 race-fixing scandal with enough disgust to retire from AG racing.
- They filled in Qirex's place as Auricom's rival, but even they hated Tigron.
- Lightning Bruiser: EG-X crafts tend to be this with biases towards top speed and acceleration and slight sacrifices on handling and shielding.
- Secret Art: Both Xios and EG-R had their own Super Weapon in Fusion.
- Xios: Shield Drain: The firing craft locks upon a target and drains energy from it until the link is broken from too great a distance, the weapon's time is up, or the target is destroyed. This weapon originally appeared as the Leech Beam in 3 as a standard weapon and was dumped for Pure, but eventually made its return in Pulse.
- EG-R: Power Swarm: A small group of drones is locked on a target either on front or from behind, and continuously fire on the target until it either activates a shield item, goes to the pit lane, or the drones run out of ammo.
- Troll: Xios fits this trope to a T, if snatching Natasha Belmondo from Auricom and constantly poking fun at them afterwards is of any indication.
Mirage Anti-Gravity Excellence Centre
- Base of operations: United Arab EmiratesFirst appearance: Wipeout Pulse (2008)Livery: Green, white
The Mirage Anti-Gravity Excellence Centre based in Dubai has been a leading force in AG technologies since the early 2200's. Their patented Mag-Strip magnetic track technology has been employed in several AG race tracks. As such, it made a lot of sense for the company to start their own racing team.
Created in 2202 by wealthy sand baron Sheikh Mani Zayed, the Mirage team mainly recruits pilots who graduated from the team's own MAGEC Academy and uses a Mantis chassis that was developed in the MAGEC Development Centre outside Dubai. This craft boasts the most balanced specifications the league has ever seen. This balance became such a trademark of the team that the Excellence Centre boasted that their pilots' skills would make the difference in their races, not their ships' specs. Despite their belated FX400 entry, Mirage has high hopes for their newborn racing career.
- Animal Motifs: Their craft resembles a praying mantis, as the name itself implies.
- Jack of All Stats: Their crafts have above-average stats across the board.
Individuals
Pierre Belmondo
Pioneer of anti-gravity technology. Founder of AG Systems and one of the main people responsible for both anti-gravity technology and its application in racing.
- Big Good: He's this to most of the AG racing scene.
- Book Ends: His great-great-granddaughter, Natasha Belmondo, who would later become a pilot for Auricom and Xios in the F9000 and then executive chairwoman of the Belmondo Foundation, was born hours before he died.
- Good Is Dumb: Not in the sense of being dumb per se. But some of his circuits ideas in 2097/64 were purely motivated by Rule of Cool without accounting for logistics or collateral effects. Case in point: he repurposed NASA's Lunar training complex into Velocitar just because it would make a cool place to race in.
- Nice Guy: Holy shit, is he ever.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: A benevolent example referring to the above: if he was told one of his circuit ideas was unworkable, he would simply throw money at it until it was. Put another way, he spared no expenses.
- The Last DJ: He refused to join FEISAR and stayed loyal to AG Systems, purely because
he wasn't interested in money and preferred using AG technology for the good of mankind.
Overtel Corporation
A corrupt and avaricious datacast company that sought to take control of the sport of anti-gravity racing for purely commercial ends.
- Big Bad: From the first game to Fusion.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Duh.
- Driven to Suicide: During the fall of the F9000, many board members took their own lives in order to avoid criminal charges, while the remaining ones were later arrested during a police raid on the company's headquarters in New York City.
- Evil Counterpart: To Pierre Belmondo.
- Greed: They focus on taking control of AG racing and milk the hell out of it.
F3600 Pilots
John Dekka (#1)
Formerly one of AG Systems' best test pilots during the early years, before he became the team's lead pilot in the F3600 League.
- Ace Pilot: He was a U.S. Air Force pilot by the age of 18.
- Badass Longcoat: He wears a green longcoat as seen in the race ending results screen.
- Closet Geek: According to the lore, John is fascinated by UFOs and anti-gravity technology.
Daniel Chang (#2)
A former AG-Systems pilot and defector from China (while still being a test pilot in the Communist government's program). He was the first fatality in AG racing history.
- Blatant Burglar: He was part of a top-secret organization that stole anti-gravity technology from neighbouring Japan to begin work on its own vehicles. But Chang became unwilling to fight for his own country and fled to Japan in order to join AG-Systems.
- Plot-Triggering Death: He was the first casualty in AG history due to an accident in 2056. As a result, the F3600 League was temporarily shut down until new safety regulations were implemented.
Arial Tetsuo (#3)
An Auricom pilot, becoming one of the most influential politicians after retiring from AG racing.
- But Not Too Foreign: She's half British and half Japanese, it's likely that her parents were British.
- Cool Shades: Not in-game, but in Fluke's "Atom Bomb" music video.
- Death in the Limelight: Assassinated while opening a raw egg bar. Not much in the way of evidence could be found so it was declared a Cold Case, though popular opinion is that Arian was involved.
- Ensemble Dark Horse: In-universe example. She's a cultural icon of the series' canon.
- Girlish Pigtails: And at the age of 22-26, no less! She bears them in the race ending results screen, including in the "Atom Bomb" music video.
- Graceful Ladies Like Purple: In-game, Arial is red-haired. But in the music video, she seem to have dyed her hair purple.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Red Oni to Arian's Blue Oni.
- The Rival: Against her twin-sister Arian Tetsuo of Qirex.
- Sibling Rivalry: Established earlier.
Anastasia Cherovoski (#4)
One of the Auricom pilots, along with Arial Tetsuo. There were rumors in the F3600 going about that Cherovoski was actually a spy for Qirex.
- Bilingual Bonus: Even though her nationality is unknown, she has a Russian-sounding surname.
- Parts Unknown: Both her nationality and date of birth are unknown.
- The Mole: It's rumored that Cherovoski's relationship with Kel Solaar is fake and she's, in fact, a spy for Qirex.
Kel Solaar (#5)
Qirex's lead pilot during the F3600. Even to the events of the FX 400, he is considered the greatest AG racer of all time, winning more F3600 championships than the rest of the racers combined.
- The Ace: He was by far the fastest racer in the F3600 grid.
- Ace Pilot: He used to be an aviator before jumping into the AG racing world, even joining the Russian Air Force at a certain point.
- Cool Old Guy: Downplayed. At around 50 years of age, he is the oldest playable character in the first Wipeout.
- Mother Russia Makes You Strong: No shit.
Arian Tetsuo (#6)
Arial Tetsuo's twin sister and sworn rival, and second pilot for Qirex during the F3600. She was allegedly involved in a failed attempt to murder Arial after she retired from AG racing.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Blue Oni to Arial's Red Oni.
- Sibling Rivalry: With Arial, allegedly coming to a head with Arian plotting to kill her. Jeez.
Sofia de la Rente (#7)
FEISAR's lead pilot, and the first woman to pilot an AG craft non-stop around the world.
- World Tour: She was the first woman to complete a full non-stop circumnavigation of Earth with an anti-gravity craft.
Paul Jackson (#8)
One of AG racing's greatest secrets, not much information could be collected about him.
- Mysterious Stranger: There is very little knowledge about his background; he is one of FEISAR's best-kept secrets.
F9000 Pilots
Daniel Johnson (#1)
FEISAR's lead pilot during the F9000 league, and notably the most expensive pilot to be signed for FEISAR in 2160.
- Pretty Boy: Naturally.
- The Face: Daniel is featured in the cover art of Fusion and also being a much-hyped newcomer pilot.
- Laser-Guided Karma: If he was the one responsible for launching the missiles that caused the Temtesh Bay Disaster; he was left paraplegic.
- Spin-Offspring: Wipeout Merge reveals he had a daughter, Amelia, by Natasha Belmondo who works as an AG mechanic.
Carlos Beneto (#2)
FEISAR's previous lead pilot, until Daniel Johnson took his lead. Since then, Beneto has become bitter of his teammate.
- The Rival: With Daniel Johnson, even though they're both pilots for FEISAR. This is because Johnson had him bumped from his 15-year tenure as lead pilot.
Roberto Sergio (#1)
A former FEISAR pilot and currently G-Tech lead pilot. He's well known for being a fitness fanatic and womaniser.
- Pink Girl, Blue Boy: Blue to Naomi Turner's pink.
- Heroic Build: Pretty much like Tigron's Sveta Kirovski, since Sergio is a huge fan of fitness.
- Hidden Depths: He's also a part-time singer-songwriter, in which his track "I'm Tasty" has become a mainstream success in San Francisco and Amsterdam.
- The Casanova: Before joining G-Tech, Sergio was romantically linked with Pascale Rouser, Nami Mishima, Naomi Turner and Natasha Belmondo.
- Workout Fanservice: Obviously.
Naomi Turner (#2)
G-Tech's second pilot and one of the most bloodthirsty pilots among the F9000 league, due to her aggressive personality.
- Blood Knight/Token Evil Teammate: She's quite aggressive and could give others such as Omarr Khumala or heck, even F7200-era Goteki 45 a run for their money.
- Pink Girl, Blue Boy: Pink to Roberto Sergio's blue.
- Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: Tigron Enterprises were interested in Naomi's aggression on track and offered her a mid-year shift for their team, but she refused the offer.
- The Rival: Natasha Belmondo, since she has a personal dislike towards Belmondo during the league.
Songen Grey (#1)
- New-Age Retro Hippie: Follows his own religion, and retired from racing to dedicate himself to it.
Nami Mishima (#2)
A popular F9000 pilot, she is often compared to F3600 pilot Arial Tetsuo.
Pascale Rouser (#1)
- Defector from Decadence: Won the 2168 Driver's Championship (and helped her team to the Constructor's Title) and joined her team in walking away from the corruption in the sport.
- Everyone Loves Blondes: If she is indeed dating her teammate.
Franco Gonzalez (#2)
A fellow Auricom pilot, he is rumoured to be in a relationship with Pascale Rouser.
- Dashing Hispanic: If he is indeed dating his teammate.
Paul Cheung (#1)
Alex Reece(#2)
Omarr Khumala (#1)
Tigron's first pilot for the F9000 league.
- Blood Knight: Unsurprisingly...
- Heroes Love Dogs: See Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite his violence on track, Omarr actually does have a softer side of his personality. According to a certain news report, he wasn't available for the commentary according to Mrs. Khumala. Omarr was actually visiting the local dogs' home "...comforting lonely puppies."
- Scary Black Man: A rare example in the series.
- Large and in Charge: His height is in the mid 7 foot range and he's one of the frontrunners.
- The Rival: Natasha Belmondo.
Sveta Kirovski (#2)
One of Tigron's pilots for the F9000 league.
- Heroic Build: Despite being a pilot for Tigron Enterprises, she's pretty ripped, and well suited to the BULL-666 craft.
- Number of the Beast: Her pilot ID contains the number 666.
- The Rival: She's deeply jealous towards her teammate Omarr Khumala regarding his popularity in her beloved home circuit Vohl Square.
Natasha Belmondo(#1)
After her career as an AG pilot during the F9000 league, she would become Executive Chairwoman of the Anti-Gravity Racing Commission and President of the Belmondo Foundation.
- Book Ends: As mentioned with her great-great-grandfather Pierre Belmondo.
- The Chosen One: Before Pierre's death, he declared her a future title-winning pilot. He was right, as she won the Driver's Championship at least twice; technically going into Fusion (the 2160 season) she's the reigning champion.
- Cool Old Lady: Went from racing into running the sport when AG Racing got back on its feet after the F9000 debacle. She was still racing at the highest level well into her 40's too.
- Spin-Offspring: Wipeout Merge reveals she had a daughter Amelia with Feisar's Daniel Johnson. Also an Age-Gap Romance as she's nearly 10 years his senior.
Zala Woolf (#2)
- The Bully: Seems to be the prime candidate for the one sabotaging Nami Mishima's ship; it seems to stem from an incident between the two while they were still trainees.
